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"The Heart and the Stars" (Nature)
A small group of survivors huddled around a large campfire. Following their recent loss, the evening was rather quiet. Huddled around the campfire were: Tobin: A man in his early 50s. He had assimilated a natural position of leadership over the rest of the group. This was purely because everyone else in the group had their lives saved by him in one way or another. He was rather tall and broad-shouldered. Ellie: Tobin’s daughter, a woman in her late 20s, just like Elliot and Olivia. She was similar to her father in the sense that while she appeared cold on the outside, she did indeed have a heart and helped save the lives of many apocalypse survivors along the way. She was rather short, with short brown hair as well. Gisela – A middle aged woman of African-British decent. She was the most outgoing member of the group, often acting as an ‘ambassador’ between her comrades and other potential hostile groups. Her husband is also a member of the group. James – A middle aged man of African-British decent just like his wife. He has conflicted with Tobin several times over the leadership position, however they were also rather close friends from the amount of time they had spent with each other throughout the apocalypse. By pure coincidence, they had also briefly encountered in a department store not long before the apocalypse began. Emilia – Just like Ellie, she too was in her late 20s. She sat on the opposite side of the campfire away from the rest of her group. This was mostly because the group’s most recent loss had been her boyfriend. As she looked down at the ground remembering him, she had to keep flicking her long blonde hair out of her face. “Emilia,” Ellie tried to get through to her, but she still wouldn’t look up. “Emilia please, just look at me. I’m really worried about you.” Voicing her concerns however did not help. She looked back to her father for assistance. Tobin moved to the other side of the campfire, sitting next to Emilia. “Look up, Em’. Just look up there. Look up at the stars.” But she wouldn’t. “Emilia… Look.” He sincerely got through to her, still with sympathetic intentions however. “You see that star there?” She finally looked up into the night sky through her teary-eyes. “Look at how bright it is. Look at how much it twinkles. Do you know why it’s shimmering?” She gazed upon it. “It’s him, Emilia. That’s Adam right up there. That star is him. And know that he will always be with you in two places. He’ll be watching you from up there, and he’ll be guiding you from in here,” Tobin pointed to her heart area. She continued to gaze at the bright shimmering star. “My wife is up there too,” Tobin added. Ellie looked over to him with a daring look on her face. “You don’t get to talk about mum,” She interrupted the heartfelt conversation. “Ellie, please, not now!” He gritted, gesturing to Emilia who still appeared to be hypnotised by the star. “What? What are you afraid of, dad? She deserves to know the truth! Emilia honey,” Ellie grabbed her hand, “I’m sorry, but my dad is full of bullshit. Your boyfriend is not up there. My mother is not up there. No one is up there! That twinkling star really is just a burning ball of gas. And we are just sentient organic creatures. When we die, we die. End of!” Emilia pulled her hand away, running away from the campfire, beginning to cry distressfully. “Make sure she stays here,” Tobin looked to Gisela and James before pursuing Emilia through the night. Later that day once Gisela had fallen asleep, James moved around the campfire over to Ellie – who was still very much wide awake. “You really shouldn’t have done that; you know?” He pointed out the obvious to her. “That poor woman has just lost her boyfriend. Why would you rub it in like that?” He was also determined to find out the cause of Ellie’s anger. “It happened before the apocalypse even began… I still can’t believe the circumstances…” Though Ellie was being ambiguous, James knew she was referring to her mother’s death, “How did it happen?” She gazed into the fire, not blinking. “Car crash. One moment, she was fine. Driving away… I mean to… I mean from…” She shook her head rapidly, “Doesn’t matter.” James stopped her at this part of the story, “Driving to where? Driving from where?” She didn’t respond at first, prompting him to repeat his question. “She was driving away from home. She had an argument with dad… She threatened to pack up and leave. I’d never expected her to actually go through with it, but she did… Next thing you know, she’s dead. Just like that.” Ellie continued to stare into the fire. “She must’ve been driving so recklessly because of that argument. The thing is, that’s how I knew she was gone for good. If she was still alive, I doubt she would let me live on in this world. I would be dead too. My mother would show me mercy. Always.” James looked back at Gisela, making sure she was asleep still. “Look, your father and Emilia will be back soon,” he was optimistic about their return. “Once they do return, I would like you to apologise to the both of them. There’s no time for grudges in this world, Ellie. You and I both know that. If you don’t apologise to them, your anger will swallow you whole. Then, you will be more than just dead.” Ellie now looked away from the fire and at him, “You’re only saying that because you know I’m right. You know my mother isn’t up there. You know Adam isn’t up there. You know they’re both dead.” James swallowed hard. “It matters not. What does matter is who is still here. Your father is still here. Emilia is still here. That’s what counts, Ellie.” He emphasised the end of his argument, “''That’s'' what counts…” “Emilia!” Tobin called out through the woods, his voice echoing out. “Emilia!” He continued to call for her in all different directions, but he heard nothing. He bent down to catch his breath after running for so long. In the distance, he heard a twig snap. “Emilia?” he had lowered his voice slightly out of fear, but still believed it could be her hiding from him. “Anyone?” He varied his callout. “Is there someone up there? Hello?” He cupped his mouth with his hands, “Hello over there!” His voice resonated, but still no one and nothing responded to him. A second twig snapped, this time much closer to him. He pulled out his handgun, “I warn you! Stay back, whoever you are! I will not hesitate to kill you!” He looked around the area, but still there was nothing in any direction. Behind him, he could hear leaves crunching lightly, as though someone was sneaking up. He acted as though he could not hear them to keep the element of surprise on his side. As the crunching came closer to him, he spun around, “Halt!” At the end of his gun, Emilia was being held with a knife over her throat. “Drop your damn weapon!” The woman holding her hostage demanded. “Alright, alright, fair play!” Tobin threw his pistol out into the trees. A second person appeared, claiming the gun for themselves’. “It’s got a full clip!” The man remarked, holstering the pistol on his side. A second woman appeared from the trees behind Tobin, “Keep your hands up. No funny business,” she pointed her carbine at him. The first woman moved in to pat Tobin down. She pulled his pocket knife off of his side and flicked out the blade. She pierced her finger on the end of it and winced slightly, “Very sharp indeed. I see you’ve oiled it properly as well.” He nodded and slowly put his hands down. The carbine clicked, “Back up! Back up, now!” The second woman ordered him to raise his hands again. “Look, just leave my friend be, hey? She’s just lost her boyfriend. You seem like the kind of people who know about loss.” The first woman put her knife away, pushing Emilia towards Tobin as she hugged him, “That was horrible!” She whispered through her tears. “It’s alright, it’s over now,” Tobin tried to reassure her. “What’s your name?” The woman asked him. “My name? It’s Tobin. The woman you held hostage,” he gestured to that same woman in his arms, “Is called Emilia. Who might you three be then?” Tobin looked at each of them. The first woman pulled her cloth down from her mouth, “His name is Miguel,” she nodded towards him, “And she is called Vanessa,” she nodded towards her as well. “As for me, well, I have many names now. The one I go by most commonly however, is Annabelle…” -The title refers to Tobin's words to Emilia regarding her boyfriend's death. *He will be her "star", as well as remembered fondly in her "heart". -The reason why Keith and Cora aren't with Annabelle, Vanessa and Miguel will be explained later this season. *Their current locations will be revealed as well.